My Brothers - A tale of a forty-year friendship
A shared childhood, school, dreams, memories, secrets and tragedies - the highs and lows of life. A friendship that has lasted over 40 years is now being told on stage.
On the occasion of the premiere of My Brothers at the Schauburg, Maria McConville, Artistic Director of Stage Partners Theatre, spoke to playwright Claudia Haas about how the play came to be written, and the story behind it:
Claudia Haas: The germ of the idea came from a project I did some 25 years ago, where I interviewed women about their friendships, and I did a radio play from those interviews. And then, more recently, I was contacted by the Artistic Director of the Schauburg Theatre in Munich, and she said, “Claudia, I really want to do a play about female friendship, do you have anything?” And I said, “Actually, I’ve got this idea!” So I started researching the project again.
I interviewed women from all walks of life, of all different ages, and what struck me was how much women’s friendships, particularly female friendships of many years, are a kind of bedrock in women’s lives. They provide a kind of safety net, a kind of support, a kind of space where you can just be yourself.
And I also found that there’s a lot of research that shows that female friendships are really important for women’s health and well-being. They can help to reduce stress, they can help to boost our immune systems, they can help us to feel more connected to the world around us.
So I wanted to write a play that would celebrate female friendship, but I also wanted to write a play that would explore the complexities of female friendship. Because it’s not always easy, you know? There can be conflicts, there can be misunderstandings, there can be times when we hurt each other. But ultimately, I wanted to write a play that would show that female friendship is a powerful force for good.
My Brothers is a play about three women who have been friends since they were children. They have shared everything together, from their first crushes to their first heartbreaks, from their first jobs to their first marriages. But as they get older, they start to realize that they’re not as close as they used to be.
They’re all going through different things in their lives, and they’re starting to drift apart. But when one of them is diagnosed with cancer, they all come together to support her. And in the process, they rediscover the power of their friendship.
My Brothers is a funny, moving, and ultimately hopeful play about the power of female friendship. It’s a play that will resonate with anyone who has ever had a close friend, and it’s a play that will remind us all of the importance of cherishing the friendships we have.
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